Asia

China

Home to more than 15 million people, Beijing is the heart of the country’s cultural and political life. This program is based on the Beijing Foreign Studies University (Bei Wai) campus, one of Beijing’s premier academic universities.

Program Size

20

Languages

Chinese and English

Fields of Study

Chinese language and culture; social sciences

Academics

Grammar classes, small drill sessions and hour-long private tutorials combine for an intensive study of Chinese four hours per day, four days per week. Students typically take one 10-credit Mandarin Chinese language course and two area studies courses. Class sizes are small and the pace is intense. Students agree to a language pledge.

Program Eligibility

3.0 GPA; Chinese 1b or 2

Housing

Students live with local host families.

Terms

Fall (late Aug. to mid Dec.); spring (mid Jan. to early May)

Comments

Students participating in the pre-semester Tibet trip will arrive in early August. This is a program for students who are serious about making accelerated progress in their Chinese proficiency.

Did you know …

The people of Beijing are so fond of bikes that Beijing is referred as “bike capital of the world.” Roads feature separate lanes for cyclists.

Hangzhou, known as the Garden City for the unusual quantity and quality of its parks and greenery, is about 100 miles from Shanghai. The program is based on the campus of Zhejiang University of Technology (ZUT), which is located near the city center.

Students enroll in four classes totaling 16 units. Students with the appropriate language skills may take a course at ZUT alongside local students.

Program Eligibility

3.0 GPA; Chinese 51b (111a preferred), with at least a B average in all Chinese coursework, their major, and a B- average overall (students must complete a Chinese language course the semester prior to studying abroad)

Housing

Students live in dorms with Chinese students from ZUT.

Terms

Fall (late Aug. to mid Dec.); spring (early Feb. to late May)

Comments

Students planning to study in Hangzhou during the spring semester have the option to enroll in an intensive January program in Beijing operated by CET.

Did you know …

Hangzhou has been one of China’s most prosperous cities for a thousand years. The Grand Canal made Hangzhou a large and relatively wealthy port city on the Yangtze River near the sea.

Japan

Nagoya’s population exceeds 2 million and is an important industrial and cultural center.

Program/University Size

Languages

English and Japanese

Fields of Study

Japanese language and culture

Academics

Students enroll in four to five classes totaling 15–18 units. Students may immerse themselves in Japanese culture full time by taking classes at Nanzan University, or they can enroll in English-taught area studies courses at the university’s Center for Japanese Studies.

Program Eligibility

3.0 GPA; Japanese 1b

Housing

Students live with a local host family.

Terms

Fall (late Aug. to mid Dec.); spring (early Jan. to late May)

Did you know …

Birthplace of the Shogun and home to Toyota Motors, Nagoya is Japan’s fourth-largest city.

The program is based at Sophia University, a prestigious, private Jesuit institution located near the heart of Tokyo.

Program/University Size

50/10,000

Languages

English

Fields of Study

Full curriculum; environmental sciences

Academics

Students enroll in four classes totaling 16 units. Sophia University offers one of the largest selections of English-taught electives courses available in Japan. It’s also a very international campus, and English is commonly spoken.

Program Eligibility

3.0 GPA; Japanese 1a or 1b strongly recommended

Housing

Students live with a local host family or in student dorms.

Terms

Fall (mid Sept. to late Jan.); spring (mid March to late July); Note: This is a spring term only program.

Did you know …

Along with New York and London, Tokyo is one of the three world finance “command centers.”

South Korea

The program is based at Yonsei University, an urban campus located 20 minutes from downtown Seoul. Several other colleges and universities are also in the area.

University Size

35,000

Languages

English and Korean

Fields of Study

Full curriculum, all STEM majors

Academics

Students enroll in four classes totaling 16 units.

Program Eligibility

3.0 GPA; students with qualifying language skills may take courses taught in Korean

Housing

Students live in an international dorm with CIEE and international students.

Terms

Fall (mid Aug. to late Dec.); spring (mid Feb. to mid June)

Did you know …

Korea’s population is one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogenous in the world. Virtually all Koreans share a common cultural and linguistic heritage, identifying themselves as ethnically Korean and speaking the Korean language.